Best Friends Don't Sleep Together - A.H. Series #1

Chapter 30

"Her name was Lola." Sebastian mentioned, dropping back against a nearby tree. "She came from a wealthy family, but her father didn't think she was worth wasting college money on, so when she turned 18 he arranged for a marriage with another dentist that was twice her age." His smirk was more than disdainful, it was full of hatred. "Goes to prove that money and doctorates don't buy decency. The difference between poor and rich is that when you're poor, you're a rotten piece of crap with no morals, but when you're rich ... you can justify everything with protecting your hard-earned fortune." He wasn't wrong there.

"Tell me about her." I murmured, not really wanting to buy time, but genuinely interested in his backstory. Maybe I'm foolish for always believing there's good in everyone, but even though the criminal side of him that he was forcing himself to hide scared me, I still couldn't stop believing that the Sebastian I knew was real. Maybe I'm a masochist, I enjoy believing in the wrong people.

"What would you like to know?"

"What was she like? How did you meet?" When he looked at me, I added: "You say I remind you of her, I'd like to know why."

He half smiled. "Lola didn't want to marry so young, but her father didn't think she had a say in the matter, so she ran away the day after her 18th birthday." His smile widened the slightest as, clearly, he thought of her. "She was smart."

I nodded to myself. "As a legal adult, even if they found her, they couldn't force her to go back to her dad."

"Exactly." Sebastian heaved a deep sigh. "You'd think she hit rock bottom and went back to daddy, but no ... she managed to create her own life without his money." He pursed his lips, lowering his glance. "Then she went and ruined it by falling for me."

"Was she happy?" I couldn't help but ask, which made him look back up at me. "I mean, with you, was she happy with you? Did you treat her right?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then I don't see how that was a mistake."

"She had no business with a low life like me. Hell, when we met, I had nothing, no money whatsoever."

"Yeah, cos that's all women want in a man. Money." I rolled my eyes, annoyed that he would even think that.

"I didn't say that." He chuckled lightly. "But even when we met, I was no saint. I had already been in and out of jail a few times for crimes you would be appalled by."

The revelation made me shudder, yet at the same time his candid confession put him under a gentler light. "She loved you nonetheless."

He shook his head. "She thought she could change me, veer me onto a more ... legal life."

"Was she wrong?" I wondered out loud.

"In terms of willful change ... no, she wasn't wrong." He looked back up for a moment. "But when darkness chooses you, you don't have any other choice but to embrace it." Sebastian claimed. "In my line of work, you don't just retire ... you get retired, if you understand what I'm saying."

"Even when you're at the top of the food chain?"

He smirked slightly. "Especially when you're at the top of the food chain. There's always some younger wannabe badass gunning for the throne." He sent me a meaningful glance. "If Michael couldn't make it out of the business without losing everything, what makes you think I can?"

"Well, for starters, that was a movie, not reality. Secondly, he did lose his daughter and that pushed him out of the business for good."

"We don't know that." He shook is head. "We're shown his death, not his life after Mary's death."